I spent four years as Forbes' Girl Friday, which to me meant doing a little bit of everything at once. As a member of the Forbes Entrepreneurs team, I looked at booming business and startup life with a female gaze. I worked on the PowerWomen Wealth and Celebrity 100 lists, keeping my ears pricked and pen poised for current event stories--from political sex scandals to celebrity gossip to international affairs. In 2012 I helped to put two South American women on the cover of FORBES Magazine: Modern Family star Sofia Vergara (the top-earning actress on U.S. television) and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who is transforming the BRIC nation into an entrepreneurial powerhouse. Prior to Forbes I was at the Philadelphia CityPaper, where I learned more than any girl ever needs to know about the city's seedier trades. I studied digital journalism at The University of The Arts.
I left Forbes in November, 2013, to pursue other interests on the West Coast.

But all that might be for naught if you just don’t have the personality your dream employer is looking for. New research shows that the vast majority of employers (88%) are looking for a “cultural fit” over skills in their next hire as more and more companies focus on attrition rates. Lucky for you, we’ve drilled down into data from 1,200 of the world’s leading employers (think General ElectricGeneral Electric, P&G and AccentureAccenture) to find precisely the personalities big business is looking for.

Universum, the Stockholm-based employer branding firm that annually surveys over 400,000 students and professionals worldwide on jobs-related issues, has culled their data to the top five personality traits employers are looking for in job candidates in 2012. How’s that for a leg up on the competition?

“We surveyed employers to get a handle on the challenges that face them in hiring,” says Joao Araujo of Universum. “What are they looking for in employees and what are they not finding?” By identifying both traits, he says, aspiring job applicants can both identify the most sought after traits—and brush up resumes and interview tactics to best position themselves.

Professionalism (86%), high-energy (78%) and confidence (61%) are the top three traits employers say they are looking for in new hires. Kathy HarrisHarris, managing director of Manhattan-based executive search firm Harris Allied says these first-impression traits are the most critical for employers to prepare for as they all can be evaluated by a recruiter or hiring manager within the first 30 seconds of meeting a candidate.

“A manager can read you the moment you walk in the door,” she says; from the clothes you wear to the way you stand to the grip of your first hand-shake, presenting yourself as a confident, energetic professional is about as basic as career advice gets. But don’t be off-put by this commonplace advice. Harris, who specialized in high-level executive placement says even the most seasoned of CEOs can get tripped up by the basics. Universum clients agree: confidence ranks highest on the list of skills companies think employees are missing most.

“We remind every candidate of the most granular advice,” she says. The most successful applicant is the one who walks into every interview with her hand outstretched for a handshake, has done her homework on the interviewer and company and is dressed to fit effortlessly into the culture of the workplace.

The remaining personality traits that Universum clients say are critical in the hiring process aren’t ones that can be read on-sight but instead call for both resume and interview preparation. To present yourself as a self-monitoring (58%) personality type, Harris says to adjust resume language to call attention to work experience where you’ve worked independently or excelled without the guidance of direct leadership. “In interviews, chose anecdotes that show how you’ve saved, made or achieved in previous positions… and how self-motivation was critical to that success.”

Intellectual curiosity (57%) is, fittingly, a curious trait for Harris, who says she generally advises clients to tightly edit the “hobbies and interests” sections of their resumes. “I’d imagine that in looking for intellectual curiosity employers are looking for two things,” she says. “The ability to problem solve and the ongoing dedication to learning new technologies or solutions that will continue to advance in the changing workplace.” Employers are asking themselves whether new hires will be with the company for the long term, she says. An employee who will grudgingly adopt a new database is not as attractive as one who is truly passionate about learning new things.

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2. “But all that might be for naught if you just don’t have the personality your dream employer is looking for.”

Let’s look at what these two statements say?

Statement 1 seems to state that a good chunk of their employees do not have confidence.

Statement 2 has the word “might” in it. I’m emphasizing this.

The title of this article is “Top Five Personality Traits Employers Hire Most”

If employers are stating that a good chunk of their employees lack confidence then how can this writer claim that the employees employers hire have confidence, want confidence in these employees, and those who are in jobs write now have confidnece?

Which is it, do current employees have confidence, yes or no? Are employers lacking employees with confidence, yes or no? Do employers want employees with confidence yes or no? Because of my ignorance on these matters, I’m not following nor understanding what the writer is stating.

Trying to merchandise yourself directly in to a desirable employer could be a lot easier. What employers lose throughout the screening process controlled at Human Resources, whom are only interviewing cover story applicants for classified listed contracts. With a couple of Training reimbursement placements to keep outsourced funding requirements at the top of the departments budget agenda. In brief: If you are building a young dynamic team of sales professionals who know how to kick down a potential customers door to close that on the spot deal. Recruit a Fireman who likes Cats.

Good article but I have to agree with Anon that this new “cultural fit” is a way around discrimination laws and leads to social conditioning. I also agree with comments regarding “hire an actor”. It seems that managers are not seeking skills but entertainment. I have wonder if all these articles I have read over the past 5 years on “how to interview, gain an interview, etc” are for real. What happened to a good resume that listed what you could do, a formal meet and greet followed by a job offer? Now it is a grilling resume of quantification by a professional writer ($800), interview classes ($2500-5000+), personal coach, someone to create your “proper” social media pages/image, a branding technician, a wardrobe make-over professional because the black overpriced interview suit is not good enough any more, research and more research so you can go play a part. It is insanity. Why don’t they research me and then figure out how to gain my attention to talk me into accepting their open role? I just seems like the interview/hiring process has gone crazy these days. Hopefully sanity still prevails in other countries.

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Ideally, the organization seeks an individual with experience (and/or potential) based on the job description, a proven work ethic and a personality that would fit into the organization’s culture. All good. Equally as important should be the character traits that cannot be taught: an individual’s written and verbal communications skills, their ability to develop meaningful relationships internally and externally, positive attitude regarding mentoring, and, have a balance in their life that reflects a sense of fair play, compassion and integrity.

Great article and awesome reminder. I once interviewed with a company that would send an internal employee out to the parking lot to “check out” the interviewees car. The “thought” behind this was to see how organized his/her car was. Lesson: Someone’s always watching from the moment you pull in for the interview =)